CarseatBlog’s Recommended Carseats List – 2014 Update!

It’s been 9 months since we last updated our list of recommended child restraints. Some models have been updated, some discontinued and many new products have been introduced. A few weeks ago we started the process of revising and updating the entire list and after much thought and discussion we arrived at a consensus. Behold our Updated 2014 List of Recommended Carseats!

We acknowledge that many certified child passenger safety technicians have had it ingrained upon them that they are supposed to act completely neutral toward child restraints. All current seats pass the same FMVSS 213 testing, they are all safe when used correctly, etc., etc. In the course to become certified, most techs were told never to tell a parent that one child seat or brand is better than any other. Instead, technicians are instructed to tell parents that the best seat is the one that fits their child, installs well in their vehicle and is easiest for them to use correctly. Nothing wrong with that.

However, the reality is that once you’ve installed even a dozen different seats, you quickly learn that there are real differences. Some child restraints do tend to install better in general, while some really are easier to use in general. Features like lock-offs for seatbelt installations and premium push-on lower LATCH connectors do make a difference in the vast majority of installations but that doesn’t necessarily mean that every seat that lacks those features is a bust or not worthy of your consideration.

Many years ago, the mighty NHTSA started recommending seats. They didn’t make these recommendations based upon crash testing. No, they were made upon a subjective determination of factors relating to ease-of-use. Ironically, these factors were no more likely to apply to someone’s child and vehicle than the recommendations of an experienced technician! Enter another respected institution, the IIHS. A few years back they began rating booster seats based on fit to a standardized 6 year old dummy. Again, no crash testing whatsoever. Again, no guarantees that the results would apply to your child in your vehicle.

So, who is CarseatBlog to go recommending specific child seats? Well, Heather and Kecia are very experienced Child Passenger Safety Technician-Instructors. Darren has been a certified technician for 13 years now and has like a zillion websites on the topic. Our newest blog writers, Jennie (an experienced CPS Technician) and Alicia (nurse and former tech), are moms with younger kids who can actually use the infant seats and convertible seats that our own kids have long outgrown. We also like to think that we’ve earned a respectable reputation in the child passenger safety community of manufacturers, agencies and advocates.

Most importantly, though, we’re just parents who have used a lot of different car seats. Collectively, we have 12 kids ranging in age from 10 months to 17. We’ve been through every stage, survived every transition, and personally used an astonishing number of different carseats and boosters. So, about 6 years ago, CarseatBlog bucked the unspoken rule and began providing expert recommendations for carseats to parents. Like many other products we use daily, we know which ones we tend to like in general, which ones we’d use without reservation for our own kids and which ones we are comfortable recommending to CarseatBlog readers and visitors. And like parents, we know all carseats aren’t created equal!

With all that said, please take our recommendations with a grain of salt. They are merely opinions, after all. And while we did thoughtfully consider the pros and cons of each seat and combine that with our personal experiences with the product – there’s no crash testing involved. Some seats were omitted because we opted to include a similar model from the same manufacturer. For others, we simply didn’t have enough experience with the product yet to form an opinion. There are a number of products that we don’t mention, if only because a list of every seat we like would be too inclusive, so products that we don’t include may still be worth your consideration! Conversely, some seats we do list may just not work well for you, your child or your vehicle. We’re not saying these are the best or safest choices in child car seats, we’re just saying they’re models we think you should consider. If nothing else, it’s a good place to start when you are carseat or booster shopping!

The Connext was a very nice backless with LATCH and a bargain too. We are also sad to see it is no longer readily available. Even though it didn’t make our final list, The Clek Ozzi is a nice booster with rigid LATCH for under $60 at Amazon right now:

Thank you for all the help in finding good seats. I have been hoping a new list would come out and it came sooner than I thought. So helpful to stay current on what is out there and narrow it down to seats most likely to work. Is there an updated budget friendly recommended carseat list? Would the recommendations for CPS programs be a good place to start?

First time mom – I have a question that I really hope you can help me with. I have the Aton Cybex 2 and the Nuna Pipa carseats and am trying to decide between the two. My car is one that the carseat will have to be placed on the side seat and not the middle (latch is only on side, also says not install due to split back seat). I was leaning towards to the Pipa, but I know one of the features of the Cybex 2 is LSP. Because I have to install on the side, would you recommend the Cybex 2 over the Pipa? Please help! Thank you somuch!

@Ashley – the L.S.P. is a great feature but that’s not a guarantee that that particular seat will actually provide better protection in a side-impact crash when directly compared to another seat. Hypothetically, it’s possible that the rigid lower LATCH attachments on the Pipa would provide better protection just by increasing stability in a side-impact crash. Unfortunately, there is just no way to determine which seat would actually provide better protection in a crash. Bottom line – both are great seats that are going to provide excellent protection (if used properly) in any type of crash. I would say choose the one that you prefer based on other features and factors. HTH!